


True Colours (I'll Show You)

by mistrstank (dreamingdarkly)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Wings, And Gets One, Bucky Has A Crush, Cute Vision (Marvel), Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, It's a bit cute, M/M, Mostly Gen, Parent Tony Stark, Pre-Slash, Schmoop, Sweet Vision (Marvel), Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Vision (Marvel) Feels, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 19:52:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17148080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingdarkly/pseuds/mistrstank
Summary: Vision knows, intellectually, how different he is. He's not human, but he's not entirely a robot either. He is both less and more. He understands the many ways he's different from his human family and, in all honesty, enjoys them.Except for the wings. The wings he finds… confusing.Or: Vision goes on a journey of self discovery and helps Tony realise something about himself along the way.





	True Colours (I'll Show You)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone ! 
> 
> Happy holidays to all of you who celebrate it <3\. 
> 
> I've crawled out of the woodwork with some short, schmoopy fluff I wrote for my lovely friend Somy's birthday!
> 
> If you happen to be a follow of Broken Pieces, please take this as a sign that I'm getting myself together and posting will resume soon. <3
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Vision knows, intellectually, how different he is. He's not human, but he's not entirely a robot either. He is both less and more. He understands the many ways he's different from his human family and, in all honesty, enjoys them.

 

Except for the wings. The wings he finds… confusing.

 

“What do they mean?” He asks of the Captain one day, as he watches the man carefully rub oil into Natasha's feathers. “Are they representative of different breeds? An inherited trait?”

 

Steve pauses and his gaze goes far away. A little smile curls his mouth. “My ma used to say they tell our future.”

 

Natasha quirks a brow at this, and shakes her head. “They show what kind of person you are. See, mine are a predator’s wings, so I'm meant for fighting.” She nudges Steve with a brown speckled wing, jostling him from his reverie. He grins apologetically and gets back to work.

 

“Thank you.” Vision says, although he doesn't feel any more informed than before.

 

~x~

 

He asks Clint, who laughs and says he's never really thought about it. If he had to guess, he says, he'd say they're just extra limbs.

 

Sam says they reflect your strengths, a variation on Natasha's “person” theory.

 

Bruce shows him a variety of scientific journal articles theorizing on the meaning and purpose of ‘the wing phenomenon’.

 

~x~

 

Frustrated and conflicted, Vision retreats to the safety of Tony's lab. He finds Tony bent over an Iron Man suit, a welder in hand and a disturbing lack of protective gear covering him. He glances up as the doors slide open and grins.

 

“Hey, Pinocchio, come help me with this?”

 

Vision allows himself a small smile as he obligingly moves closer. “I know what that means.”

 

“What’s that now?” Tony hums absently, making room for Vision at the workbench.  


“I took the liberty of watching Pinocchio. That would make you Geppetto.” Vision’s smile widens when he glances up, just in time to catch the faint flush that spreads across Tony’s cheeks.

 

“Except for having no talent with wood and, you know, the fact that I didn’t _really_ make you.”

 

Vision shrugs one shoulder, a gesture he knows he picked up from Tony. He sees the engineer note the movement with rueful amusement. “You know that is not what I meant.”

 

“So I’m thinking stealth tech.” Tony turns back to the Iron Man suit and his shoulders are hunched like he’s expecting a blow. Recognising it for the sign it is, Vision allows the topic change and obediently directs his attention down.  


“You are thinking the reflective panels?”

 

“Something like it. Those panels were never designed for something this size with so many moving parts.” Tony thumps the Iron Man suit affectionately and then spins away. With a gesture his holograms come to life, spilling colour throughout the workshop. “I have a few ideas, though.”

 

Vision listens quietly for several minutes as Tony rambles away, though his attention is helplessly caught elsewhere. The blue lights of Tony’s screens play shadows across the carefully tucked appendages at his back. The blues appear deeper, almost fading entirely into the black and greys of the glossy feathers.

 

“Vis?” The sound of his name startles Vision from his thoughts and he is abashed to realise his attention had wandered. He’s a little perplexed to realise he’s not sure how many times Tony has called for his attention.  


“My apologies, I was… lost in thought,” he offers, glad that his synthetic skin does not allow him to blush. Tony turns around entirely, his brows lifting curiously. Vision hesitates a moment and then, with a mental shrug, gestures at Tony’s wings. “I have been researching wings.”

 

Tony’s expression immediately closes off, his shoulders lifting up towards his ears. His wings spread halfway, curling forward around him as though for protection. “Why would you do a thing like that?”

 

Vision debates changing the subject, since he hates anything that makes Tony this uncomfortable (he wonders how much of that is him and how much of that is JARVIS). “You all have them and I do not. I wondered what they meant, why you have them.”

 

Tony looks thoughtful for a moment and the tense lines of his body slowly begin to ease. Vision almost breathes a sigh of relief, but that feels too obvious. “I don’t think they mean anything, Vis,” Tony eventually says, but there’s something in his expression. “I think they’re just like… Well, like having arms and legs I guess. Or why my eyes are brown and Steve’s are blue.”

 

Tony is lying, Vision is sure of it. Tony’s mouth is twisted, like he’s bitten into something sour, and he gives his wings an almost irritated flick.

 

“The others did not seem to think so,” he offers hesitantly and Tony immediately scoffs.

 

“Well, they’re wrong. They don’t mean anything. Or do you think Steve ‘punch everything’ Rogers would be a damn _dove_?”

 

Vision opens his mouth, to say what he has no idea, but Tony interrupts him with an impatient gesture. “Sorry, Vis, but I need to get this project started. I don’t have time to stand around discussing squishy sciences. You want that, go see Bruce.”

 

Vision sighs quietly, but he knows when he’s outstayed his welcome.

 

~x~

 

“Heard you were askin’ ‘bout the wings,” Bucky offers over breakfast the next day, a tiny smile curling at his mouth. Vision carefully fills the waffle iron and then snaps it closed before he looks up.  


“Yes. I find my research has thus far proved rather… inconclusive.”

 

Bucky hums quietly and the smile turns sad. “You asked Tony, I take it?”

 

“I do not feel he likes his wings.” Vision agrees quietly, thinking of the beautiful blue appendages and the way Tony had hunched at the mere mention of them.  


“Well, my ma always used to tell me our wings were our hearts. Or maybe our souls, I guess.” Bucky pauses for a moment, his eyes distant and fond. “Funny, I don’t remember her face, but I can remember her tellin’ me the story.”

 

Vision turns the waffle iron off and slides the finished product onto a fresh plate. Bucky accepts the food with a quick grin as Vision settles across from him. “Will you tell me the story?”

 

“Sure, though I warn you I ain’t no story teller.” Bucky’s grin widens and then he settles back. “Well, it ain’t really a story I guess. My ma used to say that when God made us, he tried to put too much in and so our souls burst out another way.”

 

“That… sounds lovely.” Vision says slowly and Bucky tips his head back in a laugh.

  
“It sounds fuckin’ ridiculous and I don’t mind you sayin’ so.” He chuckles again. “No, I ain’t tellin’ you this because I believe it. I’m tellin’ ya because people like Howard Stark grew up thinkin’ it, and I’ll bet Tony did too.”

 

“He has the wings of a… bluejay, if I am correct? I don’t understand why he would not like them.”

 

“Because he’s an idiot,” Bucky responds drolly. “And Howard was worse. Pretty sure he told him some bullshit about how they’re weak, common and annoying birds.”

 

Vision taps a finger thoughtfully against the table, leaning back in his chair. “But they are also fierce, determined protectors. I think that is rather apt.”

 

“Exactly,” Bucky smiles again, something soft and warm. “And they’re beautiful.” He adds, much softer.

 

“Thank you, Bucky. This conversation has been quite… illuminating.” Vision stands slowly and floats towards the nearest wall. He needs time to think.

 

“Why the curiosity, anyway?” Bucky asks, and Vision throws him a serene look.  
  
“You will see.”

 

~x~

 

Vision bides his time, quietly researching and waiting for his moment. The moment comes a few days later, when FRIDAY tells him Tony is taking a rare break from the lab. He makes his way quietly up to the penthouse - via the _elevator_ , even. Tony glances up with comical surprise when Vision steps onto his floor, but the expression melts into a smile almost immediately.

 

“Hey, Vis. What can I do for you?” Tony’s expression is open and warm, with no sign of the awkward conversation the last time they’d spoken. Vision feels tension slide slowly from his spine and the smile he offers feels easy and natural.

 

“I have something I wish to discuss with you, if I may.” He begins and gestures at the couch behind Tony. “I must ask that you listen to me, even if it may be...hard.”

  
Tony looks perplexed, his brows pulling inwards into a tiny frown. Vision waits patiently and can’t help but smile when Tony slowly sits down. “Okay, wow, that’s not ominous at all.”

 

“I do not believe it is a bad thing,” Vision hurries to assure him, hands up in the universal gesture of ‘don’t shoot’. He hovers a little closer and then, when that doesn’t feel close enough, sits on the couch across from Tony. “I merely think you will find the topic...uncomfortable.”

 

“Yeah, not making me feel any better, Vis,” Tony quips dryly, but he’s not getting up. “Alright, lay it on me before I expire of anticipation. Or anxiety.”

 

Vision takes a deep breath and let’s it slowly back out again. “I have been thinking about the wings,” he begins, forcing himself to ignore the way Tony tenses immediately. “I asked everyone in the Tower what they thought of the wings, what they meant. I have concluded that they _do_ mean something, though everyone believes differently.” He casts a warning look in Tony’s direction when the man opens his mouth and is gratified when Tony subsides immediately. “I liked Bucky’s explanation the most. He believes they are a reflection of who we are. I am...not human. But I am not a machine, either. I wanted wings of my own, to be more human. It is why I started asking what they meant.”

 

“Vis,” Tony bursts out and leans forward until they’re almost nose to nose. “You don’t need wings to be ‘human’.”

 

“I know,” Vision smiles as he speaks. “But I find myself in the unique position of being able to choose and I wanted you to be the first to see.”

 

Vision stands and turns his back to Tony. It’s a moment’s concentration to fade his cloak away (he thinks with fond amusement the way he’d chosen to imitate Thor’s cape, the day of his birth). He pictures who he wants to be, who he _is,_ and he knows the exact moment the wings shimmer into being. He hears the quiet gasp behind him, the choked sound that might be his name.

 

“ _Why?_ ” Tony whispers and he sounds like he’s forcing the word out past a blockage. Vision turns back and Tony is close behind him, hand reached out as though to touch. Vision spreads his wings wide, lets the light catch in the blues and fiery red orange of his feathers. They’re similar, but not quite the same as Tony’s own.

 

“They say children are all the best parts of their parents,” he says quietly, placing gentle hands upon Tony’s shoulders. “You should be proud of your colours, as I am,” he adds gently.

 

It’s worth it, he thinks, for the soft smile that blooms across his father’s features. It’s worth it for the way their wings look together when they embrace - blues, blacks, oranges and whites.

 

**Author's Note:**

> For reference,
> 
> Tony is a Bluejay - Symbolic for endurance, vibrancy, curiosity, intelligence and fierce protection.
> 
> Vision chose a Kingfisher - Intelligence, mindfulness, peace, selflessness
> 
> Art by the wonderfully talented [Trashcanakin](https://trashcanakin.tumblr.com)


End file.
